The present invention relates to a new class of compounds, ethoxylated quaternary benzyl compounds, found to be excellent fabric softeners and further found to be particularly useful in organo clay manufacture. For example, organo clays used in the petroleum industry as a drilling mud and to prevent blowback are manufactured by combining a quaternary and a bentonite or hectorite clay. The resulting clay is hydrophobic. A typical quaternary (quat) used in organo clay manufacture is Arquad.RTM.M2HTB quaternary ammonium chloride, a product of the Armak Company, Industrial Chemicals Division, 300 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Ill. 60606. Arquad.RTM.M2HTB is methyldi(hydrogenatedtallow) benzyl ammonium chloride, 75% active. Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is required in the manufacture of Arquad.RTM.M2HTB and sold with the quat to the end user, who must remove the IPA prior to organo clay manufacture so that the organo clay will not have a high flash point. Further, because of its chloride anion, the Arquad.RTM.M2HTB used for organo clays imparts to the latter a somewhat corrosive nature.